"Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! 

O what a foretaste of glory divine! 

Heir of salvation, purchase of God, 

born of his Spirit, washed in his blood. 

This is my story, this is my song, 

praising my Savior all the day long; 

this is my story, this is my song, 

praising my Savior all the day long. 

Perfect submission, perfect delight, 

visions of rapture now burst on my sight; 

angels descending bring from above 

echoes of mercy, whispers of love. 

Perfect submission, all is at rest; 

I in my Savior am happy and blest, 

watching and waiting, looking above, 

filled with his goodness, lost in his love."

~Fanny Crosby, "Blessed Assurance" 

blessed assurance -- I don't need to live in worry or fear, I can live in full assurance of the beauty and eternal stability of the gospel

this is my story -- people love stories - they love to hear/read/see them and they love to tell them, it is so beautiful that my story is in fact the story of my Savior and I can share joy and friendship with others who have the same story :)

lost in His love -- I don't need to have any reservations about the way in which I interact with my Savior, I am free to be fully lost in His love

"Nothing in my hand I bring, 

simply to the cross I cling; 

naked, come to thee for dress; 

helpless, look to thee for grace; 

foul, I to the fountain fly; 

wash me, Savior, or I die."

~Rock of Ages

I stand amazed . . .

" . . . O how marvelous! O how wonderful!

And my song shall ever be:

O how marvelous! O how wonderful!

Is my Savior’s love for me! . . ."

"It Is Well With My Soul" has been a favorite hymn of mine for quite a while. It became even more personally important this summer at camp. It became even more heart-wrenchingly beautiful this evening as I heard the story of the author. 

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

It is well (it is well),
with my soul (with my soul),
It is well, it is well with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

It is well (it is well),
with my soul (with my soul),
It is well, it is well with my soul.

My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to His cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

It is well (it is well),
with my soul (with my soul),
It is well, it is well with my soul.

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

It is well (it is well),
with my soul (with my soul),
It is well, it is well with my soul.

And Lord haste the day, when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

It is well (it is well),
with my soul (with my soul),
It is well, it is well with my soul.

How Firm a Foundation

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,

Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!

What more can He say than to you He hath said,

You, who unto Jesus for refuge have fled?

In every condition, in sickness, in health;

In poverty’s vale, or abounding in wealth;

At home and abroad, on the land, on the sea,

As thy days may demand, shall thy strength ever be.

Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,

For I am thy God and will still give thee aid;

I’ll strengthen and help thee, and cause thee to stand

Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.

When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of woe shall not thee overflow;

For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,

And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

When through fiery trials thy pathways shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;

The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design

Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.

Even down to old age all My people shall prove
My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love;

And when hoary hairs shall their temples adorn,

Like lambs they shall still in My bosom be borne.

The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;

That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,

I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.

Thy Will Be Done

"My God, my Father, while I stray

Far from my home on life's rough way

Oh, teach me from my heart to say,

'Thy will be done.'

Though dark my path and sad my lot,

Let me be still and murmur not

Or breathe the prayer divinely taught,

'Thy will be done.'

What though in lonely grief I sigh

For friends beloved, no longer nigh,

Submissive still would I reply--

'Thy will be done.'

Though Thou hast called me to resign

What most I prized, it ne'er was mine;

I have but yielded what was Thine--

'Thy will be done.'

Should grief or sickness waste away

My life in premature decay,

My Father, still I strive to say,

'Thy will be done.'

 Let but my fainting heart be blest

With Thy sweet Spirit for its Guest;

My God, to Thee I leave the rest--

'Thy will be done.'

 Renew my will from day to day;

Blend it with Thine and take away

All that now makes it hard to say,

'Thy will be done.'

Then, when on earth I breathe no more,

The prayer, oft mixed with tears before,

I'll sing upon a happier shore,

'Thy will be done.'"